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Instant expert: your cheat sheet for the bowl season

Sporting News, The, Dec 23, 2005 by Kyle Veltrop

THE TEAMS

* Southern California looks to win its third straight national title and 35th consecutive game. But the Trojans will have to dispense of Texas, a program rich in tradition but searching for its first national title since 1970.

* Some say Notre Dame doesn't belong in a BCS game because it has two losses, but considering the Irish's schedule, mass appeal and magical season under Charlie Weis, they have nothing to apologize for ... except for losing to Michigan State.

* Auburn is the best team not playing in a BCS bowl. The Tigers have a swarming defense and a killer offensive line. Tackle Marcus McNeill and his big buddies open plenty of holes for Kenny Irons, who averaged 147.6 yards in his past six games.

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* Oregon screamed that it was worthy of a BCS bid because it lost just once (to USC, by only 32 points!). The least we owe the Ducks is to tune in to their Holiday Bowl matchup against Oklahoma and see what all the yelling was about.

THE NAMES

Want stars? USC's Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush and Texas' Vince Young are playing in the same game. It's fitting this one is in L.A. because the pregame introductions should be conducted on the red carpet.

Want coaches? Joe Paterno returns to relevance by getting Penn State to the Orange Bowl. South Carolina's Steve Spurrier goes to his first bowl game since the 2001 Orange. Barry Alvarez coaches his last game for Wisconsin before his retirement.

Want entertainment? It would be fun to watch Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick play backgammon, so imagine what a good time it will be seeing him in action against Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil, who led the nation with 20 sacks and 10 forced fumbles.

Want to get a jump on the NFL draft? Your team could do worse than landing any of these players: Virginia Tech cornberback Jimmy Williams, Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway, Miami receiver Sinorice Moss or UCLA tight end Marcedes Lewis.

THE GAMES

* The Rose Bowl is a national title game that's as eagerly awaited as you are likely to find in a sport often dogged by computer number crunching. Texas and USC both are averaging, ahem, 50 points, so look for nonstop action--around the supersized halftime show and numbing stream of commercials and ABC promos.

* The best contrast of styles: Alabama vs. Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl. The Crunching Tide allowed 10 or fewer points six times this season; the air-it-out Red Raiders average more than 10 points a quarter.

* If Ohio State-Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl doesn't excite you, maybe you can take up knitting. Buckeyes linebacker A.J. Hawk figures to be a top 10 NFL pick, and Irish quarterback Brady Quinn will make a more serious run at the Heisman if he returns to South Bend next year.

* The best game before New Year's Day: Miami-LSU in the Peach Bowl. Neither is where it wanted to be, but these are strong defensive teams with exceptional athletes on offense.

THE PREDICTIONS

* The Trojans over the Longhorns, but not by much.

* Other BCS winners: Notre Dame, Georgia and Penn State.

* Highest-scoring game: UCLA-Northwestern, Sun Bowl.

* Lowest-scoring game: LSU-Miami, Peach Bowl.

* More likely to end with one loss, Oregon or TCU? TCU.

THE NUMBERS

1 Team ever with two 1,000-yard rushers (Bush, LenDale White), a 1,000-yard receiver (Dwayne Jarrett) and a 3,000-yard passer (Leinart) in the same season. Meet the 2005 USC Trojans.

14 Five-loss teams that are going bowling. How many bowl games are too many?

5 Bowl teams from the state of Florida: Florida, Miami, Florida State, Central Florida and South Florida. It won't be stunning if they go 0-5.

46.5 Average points by BYU in its past four games.

508 Rushing yards by West Virginia freshman quarterback Pat White--in his past three games.

Instant expert: your cheat sheet for the bowl season

Sporting News, The, Dec 23, 2005 by Kyle Veltrop

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